iPad Books discussion

Do you all know that you can loan your Kindle books for 14 days period? I think it is a cool feature. But it is sad that the book can be loaned once for a duration of 14 days. Your thoughts?

Rick wrote: "I believe the 14-day period is fair and it shouldn't be longer than that. It's comparable to the average loan time in libraries. An avid reader (Kindle's target demographic) will read a book in muc..."

As an author and publisher, the Amazon Select option, which allows an author/publisher's books to be lent, drives down the value of an author's work. According to Amazon's rather strange payment arrangement with publishers for lent books, the author/publisher will receive (estimated) 10% of the royalty he would receive on a sale. Most publishers will not opt into this system because Amazon requires exclusivity, meaning the author/publisher cannot sell his book anywhere except Amazon. What publisher would limit his product to one store? I have read many threads on this subject, and opinion among publishers is running quite negative - I estimate about 30/1. This system is a way for Amazon to eliminate competition and bring down prices and royalty payments to authors. I am not against eBook lending per se; we have public libraries for that and they do an excellent job. What we do not need is another Wal-mart in the book industry that advances its own monopolistic visions of grandeur by squeezing its suppliers. In the end, the customer will suffer too, because the selection of available titles will diminish, not increase. Amazon was in the position to widen the author and publishing base; instead they have chosen to contract it in order to pay out less to authors and publishers and earn even higher profits. I know it looks good at first glance, but the eventual result will be constricting for writers, publishers and readers. Rant finished.